Pop your Prom Cherry
by osomatsu
Summary: It started as an accident. These things always start out as accidents. [shinkaza] [second-person] [past tense to present tense shift]


It started as an accident. These things _always_ start out as accidents. You found yourself out on the playground of your kindergarten, you and your friends divided up and playing a warped version of catch-volleyball. There were two teams, one with Bo and Nene, then the other with Shinnosuke and yourself. Masao, not much of a sports fanatic, was more than happy to sacrifice himself playing so that he could be the referee instead.

The game itself had lasted most of the duration of recess, that is, until Nene managed to give a pretty menacing serve across the small volleyball net– far more powerful than what any five year old should be capable of. You and Shinnosuke both had the idea to try to catch it before it could hit the ground, your team was already losing by two points and you were especially desperate to stop "team rockstar" from scoring any more. Unfortunately, you didn't realize that by both of you going after the same ball, you would also ultimately crash into each other face-first.

You stumble forward onto the ground, pushing Shinnosuke under you as you try to catch yourself and regain your balance. It's a mess of blur and dizziness until you find yourself toppled on top of the other, your lips directly onto his. It took you almost a second to assess your position, but by then you were already filled with dread and pushing yourself off your friend.

"What's the matter with you Shinnosuke?" You all-but scream, completely ignoring that it was unintentionally your fault to begin with. Shinnosuke just looked at you with wide eyes and an incredulous expression, as if he were replaying the scene in his head over and over, before it slowly morphed into a mischievous one.

" _Ooh,_ what's wrong _Kazama-kuuun?_ " He sang out, sitting himself up on his elbows. " _Didn't you want to kiss me?_ " His voice rang out through the playground, and you found yourself giving a yell in frustration. Your fights with Shinnosuke had become common practice, to the point where they were just a part of the general childish background noise from all the kids playing outside. Teachers learned not to get involved unless it became maliciously physical.

Regardless, you turned your attention to your three other friends, already done with playing now that a new, more interesting, turn of events had popped up. You hoped, and mentally pleaded, that one of them would jump to your defense, reclaim your honor, tell Shinnosuke he was being childish. Instead, you only got smug smiles and chuckles in return. Unbelievable.

The bell rang and you huffed in exasperation, marching past everyone and returning to the refuge of Miss Yoshinaga's classroom. You refused to talk to Shinnosuke for the rest of the day. You wouldn't look at him on the bus ride home either.

He tried to kiss you more and more, you noticed. You knew he was joking of course, but some part of you was unnerved by how freely he would pretend to flirt with or even try to kiss you. It started to become a common occurrence, a part of your daily life. In fact, you began to think something was wrong if he _didn't_ try to kiss you. You would vainly attempt to push him away before he could press your lips together, but a lot of the time you were unsuccessful.

It went on for years, his attempts grew more and more bold. Eventually, you stopped fighting back when the two of you were in private. When it was just you and Shinnosuke, you just sat there limply and allowed him to press your mouths together. It was always small a chaste, full of curiosity, and you wouldn't consider them to be kisses at all– not the _real_ kind, anyway. You stopped getting mad at him, and even in a public your scorn was forced after you would push your friend away.

Your first _real_ kiss was, undoubtedly, with Shinnosuke when you were ten. You both took shelter from the rain outside, huddled alone together in the yellow dome at the park. It started shrinking as you aged, or rather, you started growing. He sat next to you, his legs stretched out in front of him whereas yours were tucked under you. He was animatedly speaking about something, probably the new Action Kamen movie that came out that year, and the excited look on his face that lit up with every new word uttered just made your anticipation grow.

It was your turn to be curious, with your eyes closed and your hands neatly folded in your lap– you found yourself leaning towards him. His excitement fueled you, and your lips muffled his next words. He kissed back.

You both argued about what counted as your first kiss. His defence was, because it opened the opportunity for him to kiss you more, your first kiss was at five. You called him an idiot. Those _kisses_ , if you can even call them that, didn't have any emotion behind them. It was just typical Shinnosuke trying to catch you off-guard in an immature way and you fighting back. Your first kiss was when you were ten and it was actually mutual, not him molesting your face or you just sitting there like a doll. You told him this, but he ignored you. Whatever, it was just another reason why you were right and Shinnosuke was wrong.

It was a given that the two of you would _actually_ kiss more after that night. You'd still fight him in public when he tried, you always did, but the more you found yourselves alone was the more you also found yourselves lip locked. They were always chaste and carefree, never lasting longer than a second or more than a few times in a row– you were both still kids afterall. But as time went on, so did your kisses, and you started to feel like something was missing. Like you two were expecting something, but didn't know what.

Shinnosuke still flirted with older women, much to your wry bemusement. Ever since his early childhood he had an overwhelming affinity for busty women in their early-twenties. Always when you caught him, you would pull your friend away by his ear and chastise him, complaining about how inappropriate he was, and apologizing to the women for him for his crude endeavors. This never bothered you too much, because the second she was out of view was the second he would practically jump you– which you wouldn't allow after his shameless displays. He never learned to stop.

"What do you mean you've never slow danced?" He asked you one day.

"Idiot," you retorted, "You haven't either."

It was early spring, the two of you were walking from the high school and found yourselves heading towards the park. It wasn't uncommon for you both to go there, especially without the others. It was practically muscle memory for your feet at this point. You bantered back and forth with him until you reached the the gravel of the park and you watched your friend fish his cellphone from the back pocket of his pants.

"What are you doing?" You questioned, not bothering to fight back as Shinnosuke pulled you into the all too familiar yellow dome. You wouldn't be able to stand up in here much longer, you noted, your head mere inches from the top. He set his phone on the floor, away from where the two of you stood. The first few notes of a song played.

"What are you–"

"Shh, Kazama-kun. Just follow my lead,"

A slow-paced song rang from his phone and echoed off the metal walls of the dome as he put his hands on your waist. You complied, giving a roll of your eyes and steadying your arms around his shoulders. You had a pretty good idea of what he was trying to do now.

Despite leading, he still managed to step on your feet. A lot. You gripped your fingers more tightly on the black fabric of his gakuran to suppress any painted noises your body wanted to make, though, your expression didn't hide it at all. As the minutes droned on, you start to build a slow rhythm together. You managed to step and sway in time with the beat, growing more confident the less he stepped on you. Shinnosuke smiled at you, eyes crinkled shut and showing all teeth and you found yourself smiling back, unable to help it.

Your heartbeat drowned out the rest of the song.

Nene was the first of your friends to catch onto your… _relationship_ , to use the term loosely, with Shinnosuke. The two of you weren't technically dating, but you were still mutually exclusive, even when he flirted with older women. You weren't public about it, but you both didn't go out of your way to keep it secret either. It just evolved with your friendship.  
That's probably why she wasn't surprised to catch you and Shinnosuke attempting to slow dance together when you were fifteen.

"So, how long has this been going on?"

The three of you sat on the stone floor of the dome, Shinnosuke's phone back in his pocket. Her question was directed at you, but you didn't answer. You didn't look at her. You didn't look at Shinnosuke, either. Instead, you focused your attention on the graffiti decorating the inside of the metal dome, varying in degrees of obscenity. Kids your age didn't start vandalizing it until a couple years ago, but at the current point in time it was all over the inside of the dome.  
Shinnosuke answered for you, interrupting your newfound passion of analyzing the handwriting of the various lewd notes splayed across the walls.

"For a few years I guess," He said in a lax tone, like it wasn't that big of a deal. You felt yourself bristle at how carefree he seemed at tackling this taboo subject, like it was the least of his worries. "We started, you know, kissing when we were five, but Kazama-kun's stupid and thinks it didn't start until we were ten."

"Dumbass! You trying to molest my face as kids didn't count!" You fired back, ready to pounce on him and begin roughhousing. You weren't above acting like a child if it meant you got your way.  
Nene chuckled and gave a small " _I always knew"_ , that was the end of the conversation. The three of you left the park together, Bo and Masao catching up with you and going about your normal shenanigans. The topic wasn't brought up again, but you wonder if she ever told the rest of your friends, or if they already knew like she claimed to.  
Making out had slowly started to become yours and Shinnosuke's favorite activity as the year went on, which Bo and Masao had the displeasure of stumbling in on one by one in your place of solitude– The yellow dome. If they didn't know, they knew then.

Your high school did prom for the first time during your senior year, as a way to enrich your culture in an academic setting, or so the school board claimed. Regardless, you found yourself forking out forty-five dollars for a ticket... and then another forty-five for Shinnosuke, with a complaint for him to find a job after learning he didn't have the funds to buy it himself.

Prom itself was a month later, and seeing all your friends dressed up in the parking lot of the venue was such a treat. You joke about how coordinated Masao and Nene are with how his yellow tie and golden vest matches the shade of her Belle-esque ball gown perfectly, which ends up with the latter of the two roughly elbowing you. _Yeah,_ you think to yourself, _they were totally matching on purpose.  
_ You click your tongue when you see Bo hasn't put his bowtie on correctly, so you step over to correct it, fishing the strap of the mossy bowtie around his neck and adjusting his black tuxedo and white dress shirt in the process. In the corner of your eye, you see Shinnosuke quickly screw up his tie as you finish with Bo.

"Really, Shinnosuke? Are you a child?" You reprimand, taking ahold of his maroon tie and taking your time to put it up into a windsor knot. You make it extra tight as an act of vengeance, which in return he playfully tugs the ends of your cerulean bowtie, a teasing grin stretching from ear to ear. You step back, wondering what else he managed to mess up when dressing himself.

"My mom didn't tie it right, duh. I thought you could do a better job." He whines.

You just sigh, and step forward again to adjust the buttons on the black jacket of his tuxedo. "Really Shinnosuke, you didn't even button the jacket right, did you at least do the vest and dress shirt right?"  
He didn't.

Masao and Nene head inside while you and Bo spend another ten minutes redressing Shinnosuke in the parking lot.

"There," you grate, clasping your hands together, "Where's your pocket square?"

Shinnosuke turns towards you with a look of befuddlement.  
"My what?"

"Your pocket square," you begin, "Fashion in the west, especially regarding formal wear, oftentimes require a decoration in the front pocket of your–"

"It's the fancy handkerchief," Bo interrupts you, pointing to his own. Which, you notice, is folded incorrectly. You write a mental note to fix it later.

"Ah. Yes, Bo-chan, thank you," you say dryly, pausing for a second before continuing on with your explanation of western fashion. "Th–"

"Oh, that thing? I blew my nose in it," Shinnosuke interrupts this time, producing a balled up silk fabric the same color as his tie from the pocket of his dress pants. Your eye twitches involuntarily. You sigh to yourself as you unhook the corsage from the notched lapel of your own tuxedo, and place it onto the front pocket of his. It was a red rose, picked with the purpose of wanting to match with him in a subtle way. He looked a little flamboyant, but it would have to do.

"Shin-chan! Kazama-kun! Bo-chan!" Masao calls in a nervous tone, and you all look to the doors of the building. "Me and Nene-chan have been waiting for over ten minutes! Please hurry, she's getting really impatient." The last part of it was hushed, just barely audible, and you can't help but worry about how Masao has been enduring her wrath. She was never the best at waiting.

"Coming Masao-kun!" Shinnosuke calls, pocketing his ruined pocket square and running ahead of you and Bo as all of you finally head inside.

You were all seated at one of the many round tables with a white tablecloth, and the first hour of prom was pretty lackluster… until Nene stole an entire stick of butter from the palateless buffet and dared Bo to eat it. Shinnosuke cheered him on whilst you and Masao watched in disgust. Still, you were surprised Shinnosuke and Bo managed to keep themselves clean while everyone but you ate lasagna, you couldn't stomach anything other than a bread roll– without any butter, and some punch.

Eventually, after your meal is finished, Ai joined you guys, seating herself between you and Shinnosuke and filling the six-person quota for your table. Her huge pink ball gown ruffles out over the seat. Masao leans over the table somewhat, directly across from Ai and eager to hang onto her every word, earning a glare from Nene. Old flames die hard.  
"So, good news," she starts, folding her hands together neatly on top of the tablecloth and facing Shinnosuke. "I convinced the DJ to play a slow song first."

"And how is that good news?" Shinnosuke asks, already looking bored.

"Because we're going to dance together, silly!" She answers, standing up and straightening her gown.

"No thanks,"

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Ai grabs his forearm and gently tugs it. "You were my first crush, I was your first crush,–" You don't bother to correct her, Nanako Oohara was his first crush, "so I just thought it would be cute if we had the first dance at prom too."

"I'll dance with you Ai-chan!"

Masao's comment was ignored, aside from Nene elbowing him harshly in the gut. Shinnosuke looks unconvinced, but he still looks at you as he's tugged up from the table. You tilt your head to the side, a confused expression on your features as you return the look.

Then it hits you. He thinks you'll be jealous. You won't give him that satisfaction, because really, it doesn't bother you.

"I don't see what the problem is, her boyfriend obviously doesn't mind, considering she's over here in the first place," You note, tilting your head in the direction of Yasuo Kawamura, noticing he was wearing a cheetah print tuxedo jacket, a white vest, and a pink tie similar in color to Ai's dress as he talked to her friends at another table. You shudder in disgust at the atrocity that is his outfit.

"Great! Let's go, Shin-chan,"

Ai clamps her hand around Shinnosuke's wrist and drags him out to the dancefloor as a slow song starts to play. You smile smugly as you watch him stumble after her. His hands find her waist awkwardly as her hands settle on his shoulders. He steps on her toes once, then twice, before he gains his footing as they start to gently sway. More couples join them on the dance floor, but you, Nene, Masao, and Bo stay seated and watch.

"It's fun to watch him not know what to do with himself," Nene states, almost sadistically, and you're inclined to agree. There's something satisfying about watching the guy you grew up with, who always seemed to know what he was doing, albeit unintentionally, stumble around confused.  
Shinnosuke, as the song continues, dances more confidently. Maybe _too_ confidently. You watch his hands on Ai's waist slide down to her hips, and you raise a brow. He turns to you to give a smile, which you gladly return with your current cynical interior. You're _not_ playing this game with him, oh no. You lean back in your chair and resume your idle chitchat with the rest of your friends.

Minutes afterwards, the song ends and Shinnosuke immediately beelined back to your table, staking claim to the seat next to you. You watch as Ai returns to Cheetah Print Atrocity, and how her face contorts into a fit of giggles to something he might have said. It reminds you of the times Shinnosuke's stupid comments and expressions could make you burst with laughter. Nene's voice brings you back to reality.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it? You really seemed to be having fun there in the end." She teases, leaning over the table on her arms to smirk at him. You turn your attention to your best friend and copy her expression.

"Yeah Shinnosuke, tell us about that,"

The man in question rests his hand on the back of your chair, and your first impulse is to push it off, but you decide against it. You might as well give him that. A pop song bubbles out from the speakers of the DJ booth, and you watch as more kids go out onto the dance floor to rock to the rhythm of the music. You feel Shinnosuke shrug, and you settle back onto your seat, growing more at ease around your friends in the crowded atmosphere.

"Kazama-kun doesn't dance with me like that," He whines, and you have half a mind to slap the back of his head.

"Really?" Nene chimes in, looking amused. "I recall a time I walked in on you guys at the park at one point, dancing all close and snug like that. I bet if you did that now, I wouldn't be able to tell the different."

"We don't talk about that!" You quickly respond, your ears and cheeks heating up.

"Aw, Kazama-kun, you don't need to be so shy about it. This is kinda like that manga idea I was telling Nene-chan about last week, where the main guy–"

Masao's fervent for his manga was interrupted as Nene abruptly stood up from her seat, grabbing Bo's hand.  
"Hey! I came to prom to dance, and I want to dance. Come on Bo-chan, let's get on the floor!"

Nene and Bo manage to escape to the dancefloor, and you and Shinnosuke follow suit shortly after. You each grab ahold of Masao's arm and take him with you, keeping him in the middle as the two of you shimmy and sway next to him, your shoulders bump into Masao's as you laugh and step in time to the rhythm.

You guys manage to find Bo and Nene in the swarm of people dancing by the time the next song comes up, and you all form a small circle to messily dance in with one another. You begin to notice that other dateless people have taken to dancing with their friends too, and the thought makes you smile. It doesn't matter if Nene and Masao were technically dates– though they'd never admit it, or that you and Shinnosuke had something going on, your friendships with each other came first and you'd be damned if any one of you were left behind in this blunder of romance.

You're reminded of a time you were all kids and you imagined your parents and all the adults disappeared due to their desire for nostalgia. Shinnosuke was carrying his younger sister with him, and all of you were sitting around and drinking barley tea, which they all pretended to be alcohol. Nene was the bar hostess, pretending to flirt with Masao, and both Bo and Shinnosuke had taken to a pretend scenario where the two of them were flirting as well. You remember growing upset at how invisible you felt, even crying out a "Don't leave me behind!" and since then, you wanted to make sure none of your friends ever felt ignored in the off-chance scenario that something like it would happen again. No one would be left behind.

Masao makes his way to Nene as the pop song slowly drowns out and another slow paced song starts up. He extends his hand, his face red with exhaustion from dancing so hard with all of you, and he looks at her expectantly.

"If you would, may I have this dance?"

She seems to ponder this for a second, giving the illusion that she considered turning him down before giving him a self-satisfied look and daintily placing the palm of her hand in his.  
"You may."

You take that as your cue to head back to your table, dragging Shinnosuke with you by the ear as he hoots and hollers about your two friends slow dancing. Bo returns to the table afterwards, bringing three cups of punch with him when he sits down next to you, and you're more than thankful as you sip on it. Shinnosuke and Bo have less manners, obviously, and practically down the glasses in one go. You roll your eyes, and take the opportunity to lean towards Bo and refold his pocket square, like you wanted to while you were all in the parking lot.

The three of you continue watching Nene and Masao dance together as you rest and regain your energy, but Shinnosuke doesn't miss the opportunity to give a wolf-whistle at the two of them and to shout about how Masao was being too stingy with his hand placements. You backhanding his upper arm doesn't manage to quiet him, so you give up. They don't seem to acknowledge him, and you find yourself envious at their ability to tune him out.

The song ends and they return to the table absolutely parched, which Bo takes it upon himself to fetch both of them something to drink. Shinnosuke grabs your punch, and starts to drink it immediately.

"Ah! That's mine! Why can't you get one for yourself?"

"That's because I only want Kazama-kun's," he teases in that faux flirty tone of his, and finishes the rest of your beverage.

Once Bo got back, you all head back to the dance area and took turns dancing with one another, trading dance partners depending on the song. Nene and Shinnosuke liked to dance together when the more rowdy rock songs played, whereas you and Masao preferred the softer tones of some of the pop songs to bounce to. Bo really enjoyed the line dances, and you all found yourselves in an organized crowd following the dance steps of an instructor through the speakers often.

Hours pass just like that, with the occasional other classmate wanting to join in with your dance group for a song or two. Ai humored Masao for a dance, standing between him and Nene as they all shuffled and twisted hand-in-hand to a lively song. You vainly attempted to teach Bo and Shinnosuke how to do something similar to the charleston to an electro-swing song, but they couldn't quite grasp it and instead made it a contest over who could kick higher.

Most of the guys had abandoned their tuxedo jacket on the back of their chairs, since it started to get hot with how hard you were all dancing– and you were no exception. You adjusted the blue vest over your white dress shirt once your black jacket was neatly folded on your chair, and attempted to fix your disheveled hair. You spot Shinnosuke coming back towards your table to you, and you note just how sweaty and red his face is. His black hair is spiked up in all kinds of directions with how much he's been running his hands through it, and you briefly wonder if you look the same. You wonder if it's a good look on you, like it is for him.

The rest of your friends return to the table as well, as do most of the people dancing. It was getting late, you noticed, and you glanced over to the clock to see that prom was almost over, about half an hour left until the chaperones started letting students leave. Bo, Nene, and Masao all sit down, but Shinnosuke reaches for your hand and leads you back to the dance floor.

"We've been dancing all night, don't you want to sit down and relax with the rest of our friends before we leave?" You ask, the last few notes of the current energetic song dying out.

"After this next song," He replies, his grip loosening on your hand as he lets go and instead gingerly places his hands on your waist. "I specifically requested it, and you have to dance with me for it. It's a special song." He insists, and you're perplexed for a moment until the soft notes for the song start to play. You give Shinnosuke a gentle smile and a roll of your eyes, your hands now resting on the familiarity of his shoulder.

"If you wanted a slow dance, you could have asked."

He chooses to ignore your comment instead of responding with a quip about how you probably would have said no anyway, and he starts stepping in tune to the first few seconds of the song with you. You're aware he's paying extra attention to not step on your feet, and you award his consideration by relaxing your grip on his shoulders and instead let them loop around his neck and comfortably rest between his shoulderblades.

 _I took my love, I took it down_ _  
_ _Climbed a mountain and I turned around_

 _Oh my God_ , you think to yourself after the first lyrics ring out, _What a total sap._ A sap you feel a certain fondness for. An idiot who's won your adoration.  
You notice his hands on your waist tighten in a soothing way, and you can't help but feel secure and serene as you guys dance together. There's still some couples on the dancefloor, but not too many. It's easy to make you and Shinnosuke out as you sway in time with the small crowd. You know a lot of people sitting at the tables are probably looking at you two, but your mind is placid with the fact your classmates will just see this as another dance that you and your friends have been doing all night.

He rests his head on the top of your shoulder, and you bury your nose in his and close your eyes, just listening to the lyrics of the song and holding Shinnosuke as tightly as you can allow. You both gently sway from side to side, taking small steps. Your dance is more akin to that of a hug, but you can't really bring yourself to care. You're not really one for public displays of affection, but the mere thought that he went out of his way just to be close to you and request a song specifically _for_ you made your heart swell.

 _Well, I've been afraid of changin'  
_ _'Cause I've built my life around you_

You swallow down the overwhelming urge to kiss him right then and there. It can wait, you tell yourself. There's a time and a place for these things, and you wouldn't want to deal with any questions regarding your specific relationship with Shinnosuke. As far as you were concerned, you didn't have a label for what you were. You were just friends, best friends, best friends with a mutual exclusive attraction for one another. Not putting a name on it didn't bother you, but you didn't know how to explain it to anyone outside of your general friend group. As far as you were concerned, because it didn't involve anyone outside of you and your close friends, it was none of their business. You didn't need to rub it into anyone's face that you held a deep love with someone that ran deeper than just a simple infatuation, and you liked to keep it that way.

 _But time makes you bolder  
_ _Even children get older_

You briefly wonder if by _specifically_ requesting this song, Shinnosuke means he _specifically_ requested it by name, or he specifically _requested_ any slow song. You can't help but feel that the lyrics have an uncanny resemblance to how your friendship developed the way it did, or at least that's what you've been interpreting the lyrics as. You feel like they fit your situation well, the two of you built your lives around each other so far, constantly pushing and pulling at one another. You were children when this all started, and as you grew up, you both grew bolder and allowed yourselves to take things further. Shinnosuke especially. He tilts his head, his lips finding your ear.

 _"And I'm getting older too"_

Shinnosuke whispers the next words to you, and you have your answer. You no longer try to fight the desire to kiss him. You step forward, gaining the leverage necessary to forcefully press your lips to his. You hear some whistles from the sea of tables as Shinnosuke stumbles backwards, clearly shocked that you're the one to instigate a kiss in public. You follow his stumbling for a second, your hands clasped on the front of his vest now. You can make out Nene's voice and Masao's laughter.

"Ohh, yeah! Get it! Get it Kazama-kun!" Nene catcalls, bringing you back to reality for the second time tonight as you pull away from Shinnosuke's lips before he has the opportunity to kiss back.  
You put the palm of your hand over your heart as it beats like crazy, and you slowly walk back to your table and sit down. Masao pats your back, still laughing and saying something incoherent. You can't really make out any sound, your ear drowns it all out, all you can focus on is your heart going a thousand miles per hour.

You look over a see Shinnosuke still standing on the dancefloor, looking at you with a dazed expression. His astoundment only lasted a few seconds longer before he regained his composure and returned to the table as well. By this time, the song was already ending. Your palm was still tightly clutched over your chest, but Bo, who happened to be on your other side, was the one to take it and lay it on the table, easing your nerves. Bo was always good at calming you guys down when it was necessary.

Shinnosuke sits across from you, accepting a high five from Ai when she passes him.  
"What got you so excited out there, _lover?_ " He remarks playfully, his eyebrows giving a few waggles.  
You make a disgusted face at the petname and dissolute display, waving Shinnosuke off. If he weren't all the way across the table, you'd swat him away.

"It's kind of hard not to kiss you when you're being stupidly cute like that. What am I supposed to do when you tell me you chose a song specifically for me and then start whispering the words in my ear, Shinnosuke? Shake your hand?" You omit the part that his breath against your ear, an erogenous zone, didn't really help either. He just pouts, before taking in what you said and cheesing from cheek to cheek.  
"So you're saying all I have to do is be a little romantic and I'll have you like pudding in my hands?"

"It's _putty_. _Putty_ in your hands." You correct, not bothering to answer the question. You think your exclusion of an answer spoke for itself. He had a point, you were a total sucker when that idiot went out of his way to do something nice or romantic for you. Even if it didn't turn out the way he planned, it was still the thought that counted.  
He still gives you that infuriating, cocky grin of his, and you're tempted to just reach over the table and flick him between the eyes.

You relax into your seat, smiling to yourself as you overhear your friends' conversations with one another. _The Action Kamen reboot is shit_ , _no no it has some really good moments that reference today's media_ , _putting in references to things is what will date this show and make it die quicker_ , and so on. You don't pay much attention to it. A small part of you is glad that Magical Girl Moe-P ended when the time was right, so there were no loose ends for the series and no need to give it a reboot ten years later.

Another few dance songs play before the five of you decide to leave. It was almost time for prom to end anyway, and you don't care who gets elected on prom court. You guys weren't the only ones heading out. You watch Shinnosuke exchange some high fives and fist bumps with the occasional classmate, and you make idle conversation with others. When you make it to the parking lot, you notice two girls give you a thumbs up as the five of you all pack into Nene's car. Masao sits in the passenger seat, which leaves you in the back nestled between Shinnosuke and Bo.  
You turn your head to rest it on Bo's shoulder, and you can practically feel Shinnosuke's eyes bore through you. What? It's not your fault that it feels more natural for your neck to tilt to the right than it is for the left, he should have sat to the right of you if he wanted you to rest your head on him so damn bad.

You shifted between consciousness and unconsciousness on the ride back to Kasukabe, using your black tuxedo jacket as a makeshift blanket. You vaguely recall Nene offering to drive you all to her house to watch a movie, _After all– it's only ten o'clock!_ But you overhear Shinnosuke decline, patting your thigh and saying he wanted to walk you home like a gentleman. You don't have the energy to call him out on his bullshit.

Nene drops you both off at the park, and you shiver a bit in the night air as you try to wake yourself up enough to put your jacket back on. Shinnosuke tells her that he'll walk you back from here, and you hear her snigger as she rolls the window back up. You wave the three of them goodbye as they drive off.

You feel yourself being tugged unceremoniously into the all too familiar yellow dome that the two of you seemed to have most of your escapades in. You don't have the energy in you to chide him for how gauche the whole thing is. All you can do is just roll your eyes as you're dragged inside the hemisphere and pulled into an urgent kiss. You trip on your own feet, bumbling back a bit as he tries to steady the hands he has cupping your face. You hold onto his forearms, regaining your footing as you try to kiss him back with just as much intensity. The kiss only lasts a few seconds before he pulls back and immediately dives in to kiss you again. At this point you're fully awake, and pushing back with everything he gives you.

You both end up tumbling onto the ground, as graceful as a bull moose in roller skates, and you manage to sit up. You hold up your hand, signalling for him to stop so you can take the opportunity to catch your breath. A minute goes by, but your skin feels flushed and your tuxedo too tight. You unbutton the jacket to it and shrug it off, you notice Shinnosuke mimics your actions.

"You're so tactless," You comment, crawling forward to do the one thing you wanted to do all night– Flick him on the forehead.

He whines at that, giving a laugh as he tackles you and wrestles you onto the ground again. You growl at his roughhousing, but you're no better than him since you're playing into it as well. The two of you grapple for a few minutes, playfully quarreling as you do, and you end up with Shinnosuke laying under you. You victoriously straddle his waist, pinning his arms to the side of him.

"Any last words?" You banter, stepping into this charade far more easily than you'd ever admit.

"Rock paper scissors," He pants. _Shit_ , you have no choice but to grant him that. Rock paper scissors was just how you and your friends decided things, like who to send out first to scout in a scary environment. Or who gets to lead in the situations like this where you and Shinnosuke found yourselves alone together and you both also happened to be more than a little handsy (see: Shinnosuke).

You let go of his wrists, sitting up on your knees as you keep him straddled between your thighs. He was getting soft around his middle, you note, like a marshmallow. You'll poke fun at him about it later, but for now, you find it endearing. You want to kiss his belly, assess if it's as soft as it looks.  
You bring your fist up, ready to start. You know he always picks scissors, he got that from his mom, so you're already feeling confident for the outcome of this game. Shinnosuke props himself up a bit on an elbow, his other hand busying with making a fist.

You both bounce your fists in the air once. _He's going to choose scissors_ , you tell yourself. Your fists bounce a second time. _He always chooses scissors_. Your fists hit the air for the third and final time. Your hand keeps the folded shape of rock, but you're disappointed to see his hand is flat, with his palm open and fingers stretched. _Paper_.

"Paper covers rock, _Kazama-kun!_ " He practically sings, and you can hear the enthusiasm dripping through his voice.

"Best two out of three," you argue. You hate losing to this asshole, he always gets this smug aura around him. Well, you do too, but it looks worse on Shinnosuke.

He just shakes his head, grinning as he starts to sit up and push you down. You fall off his legs and your butt hits the cold stone ground as he begins to hover over you.  
"Let me show you exactly _how_ paper covers rock,"

You visibly cringe at his choice of words. _Jesus christ_ , you want to gag at that. You feel personally offended for your ears just for hearing him _say_ that. Does he really have no filter? You hate him. You absolutely hate him–  
He laughs as he kisses you, and you find yourself melting into it, distracted from your thoughts. You don't hate him for long, and true to his word, his body practically covers yours. His arms hook under your armpits, keeping you as upright as he could with your back pressed against the ground and his torso on yours. His mouth molds over yours, and you lose yourself. Your arms loop around his neck, your hands pressed against the back of his head and your fingers carding through his short black locks. He lets out a pleased rumble against your lips as you scratch his scalp.

He sits you upright against the wall, your legs splayed over his lap. You both take a short break from kissing, resting your foreheads together and taking in the sight of one another.  
"So, Shinnosuke," you start, smiling a bit as your eyes cast down so you can undo his tie. You know it has to be choking him, since you were the one who made it tight in the first place. He bites his lip, and you find yourself wanting to kiss them more, so you do. It's just a small peck, to stop him from worrying his bottom lip and possibly biting off the skin, but it was so satisfying to do anyway. His hands tighten on the small of your back, his fingers gripping into your blue vest. Your fingers deftly undo the knot, and you begin to finally untie it and take it off from around his neck, then you undo the button on the band around his neck so he can finally breathe right. He hold the red silk tightly in your hands. "Feel better now that–"

"That was the sexiest thing I've ever experienced in my life." He breathes out, right into your ear too. You shiver instinctively. He reaches for your bowtie, presumably to try to, keywords being _try to_ , untie it for you as well, but you slap his hands away and reach behind your neck, ignoring the whine he gives. It's an adjustable strap, the bowtie itself is sewn together on it. It can't be untied. You also unbutton the band around your neck, and give a sigh of relief.

You hold the neck accessories in your hand, not wanting to put them on the ground. It's really nice fabric, delicate too. They'd have to be hand-washed, you muse, turning the silk of the tie in your hand and examining it. Shinnosuke reaches for your hand, snatching the fabric of the tie and letting the bowtie fall to your lap.

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"Shh, just let me.." He trails off, tugging the fabric to test its flexibility, then reaches for your wrist. "Put your hands close together like this." He demands, doing it for you.

"That's barbaric!" You spit, letting him bind your wrists together with the tie anyway.

"I don't see you fighting back," He teases, finishing the rather sloppy looking knot and tightening it. "There, that looks good. I'd like to see you try to get out of this. It'll be really hot, I promise."

You look unconvinced. You jerk your hands in opposite directions and it easily unravels, the fabric falling to your lap with your bowtie and strap.  
"You're shit at this. You can't even tie your shoes, Shinnosuke, how did you expect to tie me up?" You deride, reaching for the tie so you can straighten it out and fold it before setting it on the ground next to you, and then you set your bowtie aside. Whatever, you can hand-wash them when you get home. "I'll give you a lesson on tying knots later, okay?"

"Yeah yeah," He brushes the embarrassment of failing off, a trait you always admired, and turns his attention back to you. His hands slide down to your hips and he administers a series of kisses from your lips, your cheek, down your jaw, and then finally trails down to the side of your neck. You gasp when you feel his hips roll up against yours, and you tilt your head to the side to allow him more room on your neck.

This isn't the first time you two had, errr... for lack of a better term, _bumped and grinded_ , but neither of you really do it much or go that far with it. It was rare for you to be in the mood. You would just let him rut against you until he got tired, never really going anywhere with it or letting himself finish to completion. It was just an opportunity for the two of you to explore one another in a more intimate setting. But tonight you're giving just as much as he is. Your hands grasp the back of his head, tangling your fingers into his hair as he moves his head up and mouths along the shell of your ear. You think you might want this just as much as he does.

You gasp and your hips stutter forward, right against Shinnosuke. You're somewhat relieved to feel that he's just as hard as you are, so you allow yourself the ease you feel knowing he won't make fun of you for being too eager. He breathes hotly against your ear, letting his teeth gently graze the cartilage– and you're gone. A moan leaves your lips as your body jerks against him, your hands fist into his hair. Shinnosuke digs his nails into your hips as much as he can with your pants in the way, and forces you further onto his lap as he desperately rocks against you.

"Ohh… _God, Shinnosuke.._ " You whimper, your eyes squeezing shut. You grind back onto him.

Shinnosuke pulls away from your ear a bit, his hips still moving against you.  
"Ah– ah… K- _Kazama_ …" You notice he dropped the formality of the honorific, but you can't help but frown that he still used your family name.

"Toru," You correct.

"H-Huh?"

"Call me Toru," He pauses his movement, blinking at you in surprise. He gets this dopey look on his face and opens his mouth, which you promptly slap your hand over before he even has the chance to _dare_ utter a witty comment about your mother. You knew he was going to, you know this boy too well.  
You eye him, giving him a dirty look before you slowly remove your hand from his face. You're not afraid to get up and leave him like this, you've done it plenty of times before.

"Alright, _Toru,_ " He practically purrs your name out, and you can't help but tremble. You've never heard your name spoken like that before, and it excites you like nothing else. He seems to sense this, more perceptive than he lets on, and chastely kisses you before his hungry nature deepens it. You hum against his tongue once it slips between your lips, your own running along the side of his. The gentle grinding starts back up, getting harder and more needy as time goes on. Your hands resume their position around his neck and in his hair.

The back of your head knocks uncomfortably against the concave wall of the dome, not hard, but enough to warn you that unless you want this to be a repeating thing, you should probably move. You break the kiss to do just that, ducking your head forward and on the other's shoulder, and nestle your chin and cheek onto it. Shinnosuke's lips find your ear once again, huffing hotly against it as his lips and tongue trail down from the tip of it to the lobe. a vehement gasp escapes you.

You can already tell Shinnosuke is getting close, by the way his pelvis jerks desperately against yours. This is the furthest the two of you have gone so far, and that thought is enough to bring you closer to the edge. Each heavy breath he gives a tickle to your ear as you repeat a quiet mantra of his name. Finally, he gives a low moan of your name, punctuating it with a gyration of his hips against you before he stilled to catch his breath.

You weren't done yet. You remind of this by giving an impatient grind against his stomach. You're horny and painfully aroused, and you'd be damned if you got this far and you didn't finish too.

"Shit, shit, okay, I got it, give me a second." He responds, and you try not to grind against him again. He's overstimulated, and you're not _that_ cruel.

He ushers you off his lap and onto his lower thighs, which works in his favor to help you get off too. He lowers his hand to your crotch, pressing the heel of his palm against your clothed erection. You give a needy whine, bucking up against his hand. He kisses the far side of your cheek, next to your tragus, and whispers your name.

"Toru." It's deep, it's authoritative, it's said in such a way that makes you melt. You want him. You want him, you'd want him in any way or form he'd come in. You just want to press close to him, melt into him, merge into one. You love him. You love him you love him you lo– You give another whine, his name leaving your lips, and you gasp as you finally come undone. You shiver against him for a few seconds, finally able to relax and lean against him.

"You know, if you really want to 'merge into one' so bad, we can make that happen another time. We can attach ourselves at the hip." Shinnosuke jokes, giving you a wink and pinching your butt. You slap his hand away, too horrified to yell at him for his terrible wordplay. Your face is burning hot with embarrassment and wonder over just how much you said out loud.  
He kisses you gently, only for a second, and your eyes close. The both of you move so you can lay on your backs side by side, using your tuxedo jackets as terribly flat pillows. He reaches for your hand, lacing your fingers together, your previous embarrassment forgotten.

"Hey Toru?" He questions, turning his body to the side and facing you. You'll have to tell him later that he still has to call you Kazama-kun in front of everyone else. You hum in acknowledgement and turn your head to face him. "I love you too."

You smile and nod. It's not a shock, you know he does.

"I know."

True to his word, Shinnosuke walks you home.

The next time you visit the park, you go on your own. Just for a walk, you tell yourself, but your legs have other plans. You duck into the yellow dome, just to rest for a minute or two. Sometimes you liked to read the graffiti and little messages people left, you were always looking for new ones. People typically just wrote their name, or doodled small pictures. But sometimes, if you were lucky, you would see little notes. Sometimes heartfelt ones about dreams and ambitions, those were the ones that made you smile. But most of the time they were just crude descriptions.

Your eyes scan the walls until you see a familiar scrawl of handwriting in black ink. Intrigued, you scoot closer to examine it.

 ** _fucked my boyfriend here after prom  
_** ** _may 19th, 2016_**

Well, at least you had a label for your relationship with Shinnosuke.  
…And a hit list of only one person.


End file.
